Rehau has branched into a new segment following the launch of its Rauvisio line of surface material.
Well known mostly as an edgebanding material supplier, to produce its exacting new lines of high gloss Rauvisio cabinetry and panel surfaces, Rehau has taken on an added role of door and drawer component supplier.
The Rauvisio cabinet and drawer front surfaces are premised on a zero-joint edgeband for a seamless transition between cabinet fronts and sides, and a perfect transfer of the shiny Rauvisio surfaces - Brilliant and Crystal - to the wood panel substrate. Cabinet makers have been successfully laminating the materials since their arrival. But it requires a controlled, dust-free environment.
“We just started offering Rauvisio cut-to-size pressed boards, so even small shops can create high-gloss kitchen, retail and commercial designs,” says Dr. Thomas Troeger, director of the furniture business unit at Rehau.
One of the first users of Rauvisio material is Noel Cruz, a cabinetmaker in Miami Beach, Florida who owns Espacios Miami. Cruz is already generating buzz for his kitchen projects featuring Rehau's Rauvisio ultra-glossy whites, or mixes of matte and glossy black. "The laser edge has made a huge difference on Rauvisio Brilliant," says Cruz. "It is so smooth."
Cruz, whose Rauvisio kitchen projects are featured in Houzz.com, says his first customer saw kitchen cabinets in Germany and wanted the glossy white surface for her project. Cruz tracked it down and discovered Rauvisio Brilliant, a shiny gloss surface, and Rauvisio Crystal, a glass-like acrylic. Since that first project, which is listed at Houzz as costing between $50,000 and $70,000, Cruz has found more customers seeking the shiny effect and seamless edges of Rauvisio.
Cruz says he does about one or two kitchen projects a month. He orders Rauvisio door and drawer fronts cut to fit and alerady edgebanded. Rehau ships the material with pull-off protective sheets - like the surface of a new cell phone. Cruz rents time on a CNC to cut the fittings for the cabinet hardware.
Rauvisio high-gloss surface Brilliant surfaces first arrived on the scene at Interzum 2013, and the line was expanded to include Crystal - the glass-like polymer surface - in 2015. Both surfaces can be fabricated using Rehau LaserEdge technology for the seamless, adhesive-free finish, allowing the look of solid surface or high-end lacquered and glass-top finishes with economical, manufacturing-friendly polymers.
“Rauvisio addresses the high-gloss trend with some unique styling options at an attractive price point,” said Troeger. “One benefit of Rauvisio surfaces is their superior color-fastness, compared with similar high-gloss surfaces, even when exposed to UV light on a regular basis.”
Rehau demonstrates that with a light fastness test.
Most gloss surfaces use a clear top layer over the colored laminate. Rauvisio is a co-extruded laminate - a process Rehau established in making its laser edgeband material - and features a PMMA (acrylic) top layer that is color-matched to the ABS base layer. This process enhances both the depth effect and the UV resistance of the laminate, Troeger says.
Offered in 10 neutral to vibrant colors and metallics, Rauvisio brilliant high-gloss surfaces comprise perfectly matched laminate, balancing sheet and edgebanding, producing a high-quality finished board. The edgeband selection consists of 33 designs to match or complement the surfaces with decorative effects.
Rauvisio crystal glass-design surfaces provide the elegance of real glass in a durable polymer that enhances convenience for the manufacturer, installer and end user. Fabricated with the laser-compatible Visions Duo-Design edgeband, Rauvisio crystal achieves a convincing glass-top design, recognized by the interzum award 2013 for its high product quality. Offered in three different tones of white, Rauvisio crystal is a lightweight, scratch- and impact-resistant polymer that can be cut and drilled during installation.
“Transporting glass is always risky due to its weight and risk of breakage,” said Troeger . “We say Rauvisio crystal is a flexible glass laminate not only because it resists breakage, but also because it can be cut and drilled with standard woodworking tools adding flexibility during production and installation.”
Rauvisio edgebands can be applied using standard edgebanders with traditional adhesive or further processed into Rehau LaserEdge, an innovative adhesive-free, non-PVC laser edging that is applied using the latest laser or hot air edgebanders for a seamless board.
Rauvisio is offered as individual matching components (laminate, balancing sheet and edgeband) or as finished, cut-to-size pressed boards with Rehau LaserEdge applied, making high-gloss available to any woodworking shop without investment in machinery. High-gloss pressed boards and edgeband are available through the Rehau Express Collection stock program. Cut-to-size pressed boards are produced to order with a short lead time.
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